NAFCU cited last week's news of a data security breach at 51 UPS franchise stores to support its comprehensive call for greater regulations of retailers and others who handle sensitive consumer data.

“The Target breach of over 110 million records has been especially onerous on credit unions,” the association wrote in its letter to the leadership of both houses of Congress. Our member credit unions report that, on average, they have received hundreds of inquiries from their members seeking assistance due to the breach,” wrote NAFCU Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt in an Aug. 21 letter to Congressional leaders.

NAFCU estimated that the Target breach could end up costing the credit union community nearly $30 million.

“This cost comes from fraud monitoring, reissuance of cards and actual losses from this breach. It does not even count the intangible cost of the staff time needed to handle all of the member service issues that stem from the breach,” Hunt wrote.

The association also pointed to a survey of its members which found that the median loss of the 2006 breach at TJ Maxx  was $32,000 per credit union. Most credit unions recovered only around $3,200 of these losses, NAFCU noted.

The trade group reiterated its call for Congress to take up increased data security when it returns to business in September and cited increasing regulation on the way retailers handle consumer information as a priority for the new legislation.

“Financial institutions, including credit unions, have been subject to standards on data security since the passage of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and it is critical that any data security legislation include language to ensure they are not subject to any new onerous or duplicative regulations,” Hunt wrote. 

She continued, “However, retailers and many other entities that handle sensitive personal financial data are not subject to these same standards, and they become victims of data breaches and data theft all too often.”